Relocation process begins for 'United Daughters of the Confederacy' monument

On Sunday, people came and put wood around the entire monument. (Eric Smith/KCTV)

A picture of the vandalized "United Daughters of the Confederacy" monument. (Eric Smith/KCTV)

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -

The "United Daughters of the Confederacy" monument at 55th and Ward Parkway will be relocated on Friday after being vandalized earlier in the week.

The release from Kansas City Parks and Recreation said:

The Missouri Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy has requested that the Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation Department remove the United Daughters of the Confederacy monument from its current location to a place of safety to prevent further vandalism.

The monument will be removed soon.

The monument was vandalized with spray paint over the weekend. What appeared to be a hammer and sickle and various letters, some of which were almost illegible, were spray painted in red.

The hammer and sickle is a symbol of Soviet Russia, but has recently been adopted by some anti-fascist groups.

The exact time the vandalism happened, who did it, and how many people did it are unknown.

Many were curious about what the graffiti meant.

"I can understand a peace symbol or a heart, but I don't know what this is even about," Adam Benton said.

At some point during the day on Saturday, city workers cleaned the monument. The reddish marks could still be seen, but were far fainter than they were.

On Sunday, people came and put wood around the entire monument.

Previously, on Aug. 16, the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department said it would review a request to remove the monument.

At the time, a representative from the Parks and Recreation Department said it was only a single letter, but that they would review the request at a later date.

The letter stemmed from controversy regarding such monuments across the country, as well as last weekend's violence in Charlottesville.

Over the past week, many in KC called the memorial a symbol of hate and said it was time for it to be removed. One woman organized a demonstration to call for its removal, which was set to be held today.

"If you're trying to cementify history, you should be talking about the people affected, not the people who lost a war fighting for owning humans," the organizer said.

However, not everyone agrees.

"It's a part of Kansas City and Missouri history in general," said Dario Fontana. "I don't see why people want to vandalize or try to remove this monument."

As the debate continued about the memorial and its history, some were simply disappointed that someone would stoop to vandalism.

"I have no problem with this being removed," Benton said. "At the same time, I don't know the premise behind the sickle being put on here as a representation of 'I don't know what.'"

The "United Daughters of the Confederacy" statue honors the women who stayed home while their husbands went off to war. It was originally erected in 1934. It originally was at the entrance to the Plaza, but was moved to the location at 55th and Ward in 1958.

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